Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1887-09-01

How to Have straw stacked So That
y1i Keep We'll.

I
W1i Keep We'll.
Straw viii keep fully rs we'll rs
mixcd hay, II II is stacked with rs
much caro-. The trouble Is, usually,
that too few and incompetent men are
placed on the strawstack, while the
more desirable places about the thrcsh-
ing machine are given to the moro
careful workers. Straw will not keep
u merely piled up in an irregular pile
without thought or system. To mako
a good stack of the straw from twenty
or thirty loads of bundles. one foreman
and two TO five helpers are needed.
Among the great mass Of farmers in
grain sections the plan Of changing
work" is quite generally adopted in
thrcshing. Every one has a dislike for
the strawstack, and very few men take
pride In building stack so It will
keep. II man gets n reputation for
building good stacks every one wants
t' ''chango work" with him and he is
asked to stack straw. As there is hard
work, great deal Of dust and little
credit in II, most men find way Of IN
iuring their reputation in the art by
making one or two poor stacks for
men who try TO impose on them. One
can see but very few wcll-built stacks,
even in many of the older farming sec
tions where nice straw has come to
possess a market value.
When II is possible. the farmer
should stack his own straw, or employ
some man 10 stack II for him who will
do Il well. II hands are secured by
changing work, Il is well for two TO
agree TO stack each others straw. In
any case, one man should be detailed
by the owner to stack the straw, and
should be provided with enough help
crs TO enable him to do a good Job.
The foreman of the stack should lay
out the bottom so rs to get as nearly
the proper sizo as possible. This is
often very hard to do at the start, cs-
pccially when threshing from the
shock, and it requires practice to
judge correctly. Old thrcshing-ma-
chine men often acquire n good eye
for determining how large the stack
should be made, and they should be
consulteds II the foundation is made
too largo, the stack will be fiat when 1t
has settled. and II made too small, the
stack is run so high that part must
be showed OF at one side, where il Is
too often allowed to spoil. In build
ing large stacks, II is preferable to
make them quite long, rather than too
wide, 10 shed rain well. The foreman
should direct where the straw Is to be
laid, and where the trampins is 60 be
done. In building the outside of the
stack. he should stand at the outer end
of the line of pitchers and place the
straw himself The sides should be
run straight up to about onc-half the
height the stack is TO be when COM
plete, and then drawn In at an angle OF
from forty-iiye to sixty degrees.
The tramping should be done main
ly in the center under the ridge Of the
stack, rs this part will support the
greatest weight, and it is desirable to
have it settle less than the outside, so
rs 10 run the water outward. Up to
the point whore the topping-out is be-
gun, the surface should be kept level
Before beginning to draw the sides In,
the center should be rounded up.
trampcd thoroughly and kept in that
shape to the top. BY this method the
successive layers Of straw arc so placed
as 10 lap over each other like shingles,
and as the stack settles most around |
the edges they remain in that position.
the rain much better than IL |
the stack is kept level and tramped |
the most around the edges. The stack |
should be built up uniformly to the
top and not topped out one end at a |
time. A stack built by system and |
plan will not settle down in places and |
let the rain run into holes, making |
rotten cores reaching to the ground, ms
Is often found to be the case in straw
piles. Prairie Farmer.